Grant Funds Enable Clean Up at Fairfield Hills

Eight housing units near Mile Hill South will be part of a hazardous materials clean-up project made possible through grant funds.

Photo: Kendra Bobowick

Danbury Hall, which site at the main entrance to Fairfield Hills, will be included in a hazardous materials clean up, thanks to Environmental Protection Agency grant funds. The town will also use capital funding for the building’s demolition.

Officials plan to use $200,000 in grant funds for a hazardous materials cleanup of Danbury Hall and the eight single family dwellings at Fairfield Hills — all of which are slated for demolition.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cleanup grant process “is well underway,” announced Director of Economic and Community Development Elizabeth Stocker.

“The clean up helps bring us a step closer to achieving the master plan,” she said.

Another $200,000 for demolition is in the town’s Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), which has not yet been bonded, but Ms Stocker anticipates that funds will become available within the year. She will then coordinate the clean-up with ensuing demolition “as one big project.”

A public hearing on the work will take place on March 20 during a regularly scheduled Fairfield Hills meeting. Licensed Environmental Professional (LEP) Kimberly Clarke, advising on this project, will also be available Wednesday.

The areas occupied by Danbury Hall, visible from Wasserman Way near the campus entrance, and the eight units on a corner of the property closer to Mile Hill South, will become open space, Ms Stocker said. The overall clean up and demolition “is a step toward land preservation or possibly other uses,” she said.

The grant requires $40,000 in matching funds and in-kind contributions from town departments involved in the project.